10 Garden Tasks That Set Your Garden up for Spring

Gardenary is on a mission to make gardening ordinary, but if you already have your garden set up, we actually want to help make it extraordinary this spring. I've come up with 10 things I did last winter to ensure my spring garden was productive and beautiful and just everything I wanted it to be. I'm making sure I check all these tasks off my list right now, at the end of winter, so I can enjoy round two of that spring garden.

Here are 10 things that you can do right now to be sure you have your best spring garden ever.

One: Figure Out Your Spring Planting Dates

Now is the best time to put specific dates for your spring garden on the calendar. Once you know your last frost date, you can just work back from there.

Here are some important dates I like to set reminders for:

• PEA PLANTING DAY - Make sure your peas go into the garden 60 days before your last frost in the spring so that they have enough time to produce tons of pods for you before the weather starts to warm up.
• COOL SEASON VEGGIES PLANTING DAY - This is the day you'll move all your large plants like kale and cabbage that you started indoors out to the garden space. It's generally about 60 days before your last frost date, as well.
• COOL SEASON SEED SOWING DAY - You can direct sow seeds for fast-growing plants like lettuce, radishes, and carrots about 45 to 50 days before your last frost date.

Mark these key days on your calendar to make sure you spring garden is timed to perfection. If you'd like a little help determining your planting days, we've got a free resource that calculates your planting days for the entire year based on your first and last frost dates. Download your Gardenary Planting Calendar here.

I definitely recommend marking these dates in your calendar so you're less likely to forget about them (speaking from experience).

Two: Make Planting Plans

I love making planting plans for my raised beds so that I have a visual guide for everything I want to grow in the upcoming gardening seasons. Your planting plan doesn't have to be artistically rendered, and you're not married to whatever you write down. But it is nice to get your wheels turning. (It's also a good way to reign in expectations about what can realistically fit in your raised beds if you tend to get a little too ambitious, like me.)

So make a cup of tea, sit down with whatever art supplies you have on hand, and make some planting plans. Your work now will be worth it in the months to come because you'll have a plan to follow if you get confused or overly ambitious.

Three: Order Seeds for Your Favorite Herbs, Vegetables, and Flowers

If you haven't already done so, it's high time to order seeds for your spring garden.

Put in an order for seeds that need to be started indoors for your spring garden today. That includes seeds for perennial herbs (rosemary, oregano, sage, thyme, marjoram, lemon balm, etc.), large leafy greens (kale and Swiss chard), and slow-growing veggies (broccoli, cauliflower, and Brussels sprouts). Try to have those delivered to your doorstep as soon as possible so you can get them started ASAP.

You'll also want to order seeds for small plants that you'll direct sow in the garden shortly. That includes seeds for spring root crops like radishes, beets, and carrots and then small leafy greens like arugula, buttercrunch, spring mix, and spinach. You don't necessarily need to plant these out right now, but you'll want to have them on hand so that you're ready to plant your spring garden when the time comes.

While you're ordering seeds, don't forget your favorite flowers for cool weather. Calendula, chamomile, and echinacea are all easy to start from seed.

Four: Order Onion Sets and Seed Potatoes

If you're not growing onions from seed, then it's a great idea to go ahead and order some sets from a seed company now. You can also grab some seed potatoes now before the popular varieties are out of stock. Note that most seed companies will hold your items until it's time to plant them in your climate.

Five: Start Seeds Indoors for Your Spring Garden

The best way to grow an abundant spring garden without spending a ton of money on plants from the nursery is to start your own seeds indoors.

As soon as your seed order arrives, get those herbs and large cool season veggies (kale, Swiss chard, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbages, mustards, etc.) started in some organic seed starting mix. Put them under grow lights and set them on a warming mat to speed up the sprouting process a little bit. That way, they'll be ready to go out into the garden about 60 days before your last threat of frost.

Six: Research Local Nurseries

Look for local sources like nurseries to buy some spring flowers for your garden (if you don't plan to start them all by seed yourself). It might already be a little late to grow things like pansies and snapdragons by seed and still enjoy their blooms to the max. Buying flowers is a wonderful way to support your local nursery when it comes time to plant your spring garden.

Seven: Order Garden Structures

Right now is a wonderful time to order any raised beds, trellises, walkway material, or garden edging that you'll need for your garden. (If you plan to grow anything that climbs—cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, sugar snap peas, sweet peas, you name it—you'll definitely want a strong trellis system to support them.)

Maybe you want to expand your kitchen garden or add some native plant spaces. Whatever you want to do to beautify or increase your garden space, now is the time to think ahead and secure materials. Spring is already too late. I've had so many clients contact my garden consulting company about wanting a new garden in the middle of April, when everything's sold out or delayed by weeks. These materials should be available to you now so that your garden is ready to grow as soon as the temps warm up.

Eight: Order Garden Covers

While you're ordering supplies for your garden, consider grabbing some garden covers for nights you're expecting frost. You can use a wide variety of things to cover your garden in the cool season to keep your plants productive. The simplest thing is just draping some frost cloth over garden hoops spread across your garden. For more cold weather protection, you can add some sheets of plastic to really trap the warm air around your plants. In colder climates, you could use a cold frame or greenhouse.

Now is the time to think about how you'll be protecting all those plants that you've worked so hard to plant in your spring garden.

Nine: Grab Some Compost for Your Garden

Find a reliable local source for organic compost for the spring season. I highly recommend adding 2 to 3 inches of compost right on top of your raised-bed garden before you plant for the spring season. Go ahead and purchase that compost if you can so that it's ready for you as soon as your soil is workable.

Ten: Winter Sow Some Seeds

Winter sowing simply means to plant some seeds directly in the soil right now, way before you think it's time for those plants to grow. A lot of gardeners use old milk jugs to winter sow their seeds, but I prefer to plant right in my raised beds. The seeds will sit there in the cold and then sprout as soon as the soil warms up.

Winter sowing is a wonderful way to get a jump start on the spring season while working with nature. After all, seeds out in the wild drop from the plant, spend the coldest part of the year in the soil, and then germinate as soon as they sense it's time. You can winter sow seeds for plants like spinach, carrots, beets, radishes and arugula. You just need the top inch or two of soil to be workable.

That's one more thing you can check off your list before spring even arrives!

Now You're Ready for the Most Fantastic Spring Season in the Garden Yet

By making plans and getting everything ordered and set up now, you're so far ahead of the game. You're going to be up and growing the minute the temperatures warm up and your soil is ready for plants.

Thank you for being part of Gardenary. I hope your spring garden is more beautiful and abundant than ever before!